And when they drew near unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the Mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them, Go into the village opposite you and straightway ye shall find an ass tied and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto Me.

And if any man say anything unto you, you shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek and sitting upon an ass and a colt, the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them. And brought the ass and the colt and put on them their clothes and they set Him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way, others cut down branches from the trees and spread them in the way. And the multitudes that went before and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David:

Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

And when He was come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

Now we don't have kings in America. In fact, we were established

out of an anti-king revolution. As a result of this, we know very

little of the pomp and majesty and ceremony that attends a coronation.

Perhaps the closest we ever come to that kind of thing is when we

watch the British royal family going through the various kinds of

ceremonies that they do, exposed to us on television. But as far as

hands-on acquaintance with monarchy and ceremony and coronation, it's

not really familiar to us.

But in our text, we find a coronation, as truly a coronation as

any coronation ever was, for this is truly a King. And He is affirmed

as a king and He is inaugurated into His Kingship, in a sense, in this

very passage. But as little as we know about coronations, we know

enough to know that this isn't like any of the ones we've ever been

exposed to. I mean, it doesn't quite seem like the coronations with

which history has been familiar. I mean, when have we ever seen a

king riding on a donkey's colt, meek and lowly, with people throwing

tree branches and old clothes in his path?

There seems to be something missing, especially when you compare

it with the coronations of the world. Europe, for example, which sort

of sets the pace for the western world in its understanding of

coronations, has given us a long history of the pomp and the glory and

the splendor and the majesty and the wealth of those events in which a

king is inaugurated into his royal and regal status. Sometimes he was

raised on a shield, sometimes he was made to stand on a sacred stone,

sometimes he was presented with a spear or with a sword or with a

scepter, or given a crown or given a robe of great distinction to mark

out the inauguration into that official place of king.

And traditionally in Europe, they even borrowed from the

inauguration or coronation of David and Saul by adding some religious

features and wanted to assign to the secular kings divine rights as

kings. And therefore they brought the men of God, the bishops or the

priests, to affirm the sovereign right of a king. It was a grand and

glorious occasion, usually followed by great feastings and banquets.

There was splendor everywhere, rich people in rich clothing, jewels,

horses, carriages, archbishops, famous dignitaries everyplace.

Everything pointed to the glory of the individual being crowned, his

majesty, his military might and power and so forth.

I don't know if you know it, but just as an indication of some of

the falderal and the wealth that goes along with all of that, a crown

was made for Queen Victoria in 1838, the crown was made all out of

rubies and sapphires of monstrous proportions. In the middle of it

was a 309 carat diamond. And the scepter which she took in her hand

had a diamond on top of it of five-hundred and sixteen and a half

carats cut from the Star of Africa. Events of tremendous, almost

inconceivable wealth, coronations were events of great splendor.

But this is not like those coronations. A donkey's colt, a bunch

of branches and some old clothes. But then this is no ordinary king.

And He has no ordinary kingdom. He said to Pilate, "I am not a king

like you think kings are, My Kingdom is not of this world."

Now this is a very important event in these eleven verses because

it initiates the last week of the life of our Lord prior to His

crucifixion. It is the last drama, it is His last public act prior to

being crucified, the last event of His ministry. And it has to be

treated with a great amount of respect, and it has to be understood

for what it really is or you won't understand what comes after it. I

really feel that the earthly coronation of Jesus Christ, sometimes

called the triumphal entry, gets bypassed far too much. It is a very

significant event. And you'll see that significance unfold as we

examine it together.

I want you to get the scene now. Verse 1 tells us, Jesus comes to

Jerusalem, and it sets for us the setting. "And when they drew near

to Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage unto the Mount of Olives..."

well stop there. As we begin to see the unfolding of this marvelous

coronation, I want you to notice, first of all, the end of the

pilgrimage. We'll call point one the end of the pilgrimage. It is

the end.

Jerusalem was to be the end. He never ever leaves the vicinity of

Jerusalem. This is it. He dies in the city. This is the end of 33

years. Thirty years of obscurity, three-plus years of ministry, it

all ends here. This is the end of the pilgrimage. The goal of the

Lord's life and ministry is about to be reached.

Now I'm not going to go back and try to sum up all that's

gone before we've traced it all the way through the first 20 chapters

of Matthew, but just to bring you right into this scene, the Lord a

few weeks before had left Galilee. He had ministered throughout

Galilee. He had ministered some in Judea where Jerusalem was the

major city, of course. But He had yet really touched Peraea which was

the region called "the beyond" which was east of Jordan. So in

leaving Galilee this time, He went east of the Jordan and through the

area known as Peraea. And He did what He did everywhere: He preached,

He taught, He healed and He presented to them His credentials as King.

And as He came to the south, moving through Peraea, He was moving

directly toward Jerusalem at the same time, knowing it was Passover

time, knowing it was time to come to the end of His pilgrimage,

knowing it was time to get ready to die. And as He moved, He moved

among pilgrims who also were going. And so a crowd collected as He

came to the south. And finally He crossed the Jordan, back over to

Judea. And He crossed at Jericho, went through the city of Jericho.

There He embraced in His salvation a small man by the name of

Zacchaeus, healed two blind men--one of whose name was Bartimaeus.

And not only those three, perhaps, but even more than that collected

with Him and together they moved up to Jerusalem.

So, it's been a few weeks since He left Galilee. Ministered in

Peraea. Came through Jericho and now He ascends to Jerusalem. And

it's only about 17 miles, but it's 3,000 feet in elevation. And so,

when it says "He went up to Jerusalem," or when anyone went up to

Jerusalem, they really went up from Jericho. And so, by now He's

collected an entourage of people. And they're moving to that great

event called Passover. Little do they know that He is the Passover

lamb.

At the same time, the city is literally teeming with

humanity...masses of people are there. There was a sense as ten years

after this particular event when there was a counting of the

sacrificial lambs, and the count is somewhere around 260 thousand

Passover lambs that were slaughtered during that week ten years later.

And if that's the case, the Jewish law prescribed one lamb for ten

people, there could have been as many as 2.6 million people in the

city. So it would have been literally teeming with mobs of people.

So, there they were, flowing in the city and flowing to the city.

And Jesus was taking the primary moment in the history of Israel's

calendar year for this great event, when the city was swelled to its

greatest population. And it says in verse 1, "When they drew near to

Jerusalem." Before He went into the city, He came to a place called

Bethphage. Now we don't know anything about this place. We don't

know anything at all about it. We can't find any archaeological

evidence of its existence. It was some kind of a hamlet somewhere

near Bethany because in verse 2 it says He sent two disciples saying,

"Go into the village opposite you." And when He sent them, He was in

Bethany. So it's somewhere near Bethany. Bethany is two miles east

of Jerusalem, just on the other side of the valley Kedron, the Mount

of Olives, on the backside of the Mount of Olives. And we don't know

where Bethphage is, but it's in the district of the Mount of Olives.

Bethany is there also and Jerusalem is just a two-mile walk from

there. And so, Jesus arrives in Bethphage. And then in Bethany.

Now John gives us an interesting note. Turn to John chapter 12,

and I think it's worth our consideration briefly. John chapter 12

verse 1 says, "Then Jesus," and this is at the same moment, "six days

before the Passover...six days before the Passover came to Bethany."

So, first to Bethphage and then over to Bethany. Why Bethany? "Where

Lazarus was who had been raised from the dead. And they made Him a

supper and Martha served--as she always does." You know, Jesus is on

His way to Jerusalem, but before He goes into the city He stops. And

He goes to Bethany because that was where His friends lived, Mary,

Martha and Lazarus. Dear friends, I suppose from an earthly

standpoint with the exceptions of the apostles themselves, these were

the three dearest people in Jesus' life.

And as He approaches the inevitable week of pain and death, He

seeks out the comfort and the compassion and the care of His beloved

friends. And Bethany becomes for Him, for these six days, a resting

place. He spends the time with His dear beloved friends. But even

there, the stabs of hell are present because one of the disciples,

Judas Iscariot who was to betray Him, said, "Why was not this ointment

sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? And this he said not

because he cared for the poor but because he was a thief and he had

the bag." And so, even there He was stabbed with the stabs of hell.

The hate for Jesus was relentless.

Six days before the Passover...I believe that's Saturday...six

days before the Passover, and there was a supper in His honor and He

was anointed and He was loved by everybody but one. And it must have

been a warm and wonderful time. Six days before the lamb of God, the

Passover lamb, the true sacrifice, the lamb slain from the foundation

of the world is to be offered...six days from the nails, six days from

the thorns, the spit, the cursings, the spear, the crown, the hatred,

the bitterness, the sin bearing, the loneliness of being God-forsaken,

six days--that's all.

Well, the next day...the next day, John tells us in verses 9 to 11

of chapter 12 that many Jews came to Bethany to see Him...many Jews.

And there was a great gathering about Him, so much so that the leaders

were very concerned as to how they might kill Him because He was such

a threat. So it seems as though when He arrives there's some

affirmation coming from Lazarus and Mary and Martha, coming from the

people. It looks good, with the exception of Judas, it looks good.

And the coronation is near, and He knows that. And maybe we might

say, "Boy, everything is really on schedule. He's being anointed.

His friends are caring for Him. Many people are moving out to see Him

who have heard of His power in raising Lazarus from the dead, which He

had already done." And everyone knew Lazarus. And that's how it all

starts.

Now, let's go back to Matthew 21. The first day He arrives there,

He has supper, He's anointed. The next day, a multitude gathers to

Him. And probably on the next day, which most likely was Monday,

Jesus sent two disciples--it says in verse 1--and Jesus here

initiates, He initiates His own coronation. He sets it in motion.

They don't come and get Him and haul Him off. Those critics of

Scripture who say that Jesus got carried away in the enthusiasm of the

mob, that Jesus was pushed into something He never intended to happen,

that Jesus was happy to be a moral teacher, just moving around doing

nice things for nice folks, all of a sudden started to get caught up

in the energy of His own disciples' enthusiasm and they pushed Him

into something that ultimately got Him killed, they're liars who say

that because that's not true. He initiated everything. He controlled

every element of His own ministry, every turn, every action was

sovereignly His to initiate. So He dispatched two disciples.

It doesn't tell us which two. On another occasion in Matthew...in

Luke 22:8 when He sent out two, it was Peter and John. It may have

been Peter and John here, we don't know. And He said, "Go to the

village," verse 2, "opposite you," which would be Bethphage, "and

immediately you'll find an ass tied and a colt with her, loose them

and bring them unto Me." He was about ready to go into the city. He

was controlling everything, let me tell you why:

He wanted to demonstrate to the world that He was no victim, that

He was not caught up in some euphoric Messianic movement, but that it

was all under His total control and it was all within His own power.

Every detail was worked out accurately. And He wanted to create a

mass demonstration, that's right. He wanted the people to cry

"Hosanna to the Son of David, Blessed is the one who comes in the name

of the Lord, hosanna in the highest." He wanted them to cry out that

He was the Messiah because He wanted it in their very mouths that He

had indeed proved Himself to be who He was. He wanted them to bespeak

the fact that there was no doubt about the credentials of Jesus

Christ. He wanted that whole mob, that whole national multitude to be

crying out that this was the Messiah so that forever and always it

could never be said they really didn't have enough information. They

knew what He had taught and they knew what He had done.

And the climax of it all was the resurrection of Lazarus whom they

had known to be dead for four days. And out of their own mouths came

their own affirmation that became for them either the statement of

their true belief or the statement of their damnation because they

knew who He was. And He set the scene to put it in their own mouths

and they said it. The credentials were overwhelming, the proof was

unanswerable.

And there is another reason that He created this mass

demonstration, and that is because it would lead to the anger of the

Pharisees which ultimately would lead them to desire His life which

would ultimately lead to His crucifixion. And He had to set that in

motion, too, because it was important not only that He be selected as

the lamb to die, but that He die on the Passover day. And He had to

set that all in motion. I don't know if you know this, but the day He

rode in there, on Monday, was the day traditionally that the Jews

selected their lamb for sacrifice. And He offered Himself on that day

as the lamb for the whole world. And He had set it in motion so that

by Friday the Passover day, He would die.

And so, Jesus took charge of all the events, creating the

situation as He wanted to create it. He also did what He did here,

sending the disciples to get these two animals, in order to fulfill

prophecy, as it says in verse 4. "It was all done that it might be

fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet." He was in control of

everything. He was on a divine schedule. And so, He initiated His

own coronation.

And so, we begin then with the end of the pilgrimage. And we see

Him as He arrives at Jerusalem. Now I want you to look at a second

feature of this passage. And I like to call it "the exactness of

prophecy...the exactness of prophecy." He is going to be the king the

prophets predicted.

I want you to turn, for just a moment, to Zechariah 9:9--

Zechariah, just go two books to your left, Matthew, Malachi,

Zechariah. And in the first eight verses of Zechariah 9, there's a

prophecy of a great ruler that will come. And this great ruler is

going to come and there's going to be a deliverance for Israel under

him. I mean, he's really a great ruler. Talks about how he'll

deliver them from the Syrians, and the...Philistia(?), and all of

their surrounding enemies and he'll save Israel. Basically verses 1

to 8 is a prophecy of Alexander the Great...Alexander the Great who

was a human conqueror.

But, after Alexander the Great, they'll come a greater than he.

And verse 9 is a contrast. Alexander is just used for comparison.

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem.

Behold, thy king cometh unto thee." Man, there's coming a king.

Alexander and his military triumph, riding on his great white horse

with all of his entourage, flashing his sword in the sun, with his

great crown signifying him as the conqueror of the world, the great

military genius of Alexander with all of his entourage had come to the

rescue of Israel. But there is coming another king, "He is righteous

and He has salvation." And then this seemingly inconceivable and

contradictory statement, "Lowly and riding on an ass and upon the colt

a foal of an ass."

Somebody says, "What in the world is that? Nobody rides a donkey

at a coronation." Donkeys used to have a place in the world until

Solomon came along in the land of Palestine and Solomon made the horse

the animal of dignity and honor and war. And donkeys became nothing

but stupid beasts of burden. And nobody rode a donkey, certainly not

at a coronation. But, says the prophet, your king will ride one.

Now go back to Matthew chapter 21. And it says, "Go into the

village opposite you," in verse 2, "and immediately you're going to

find that donkey and a colt with her, loose them and bring them to

Me." Go into that little village, Bethphage, located somewhere in the

vicinity of the Mount of Olives, 2600 foot-high ridge northeast of

Jerusalem. And just as you get into the village, right away you're

going to find these two animals.

How do You know that? Well, we could say He had supernatural

knowledge and be right. But I kind of think He knew the folks that

lived there and He knew they had these animals because He knew that

they would respond. He says, "If they ask you anything, just tell

them the Lord has need of it and they'll send the animals with you."

So He must have known that these were believers. They would not

withhold their animals from the Lord.

By the way, Mark 11:2 tells us exactly where the two animals were

found. And Mark and Luke both tell us, this is very interesting, that

neither of them had ever been ridden...neither of them had ever been

ridden. You say, "Is that important?" Yes, because it was an honor

for someone to ride an animal who had never been ridden. To ride a

young animal that had never been ridden was as if to say, "This animal

has been saved for you," very special.

You say, "Well why do they have to take the mother if He's going

to ride the colt?" Well, a donkey's touch enough to get going and to

keep in the right direction. And a donkey colt would be doubly

difficult unless you took the mother. And if you led the mother, the

colt would follow.

"Well, why ride the colt, why not ride the mother?" Because the

colt is more lowly than its mother. And He seeks out the lowliest

stupid beast of burden He can find.

You say, "This isn't a coronation like any other." That's right,

He's not a king like any other. And just tell them, He says, the Lord

has need of them...sovereign Lordship...and they'll respond and send

them with you.

Then verse 4, "All this was done that it might be fulfilled which

was spoken by the prophet..." we just read it, Zechariah 9:9. It's

just what the prophet said. "Tell ye the daughter of Zion, or say to

the daughter of Zion..." What does that mean? Well, that simply

means the people of Jerusalem. A city is seen as the offspring of its

locality. Zion is another name for the city, for the area, because

Zion is the highest point. It's higher than Mount Moriah. It's a

little south of Mount Moriah but it's the highest point. The city

became known by its highest promontory, Zion. Tell, it says, the

daughter of Zion. That is the people who are the offspring of its

locality, or its region. "Tell the population of Jerusalem, Behold,

thy King comes unto thee."

Oh, that sounds great. And then the same line, "Meek and riding

on an ass and a colt, the foal of an ass." So incongruous that the

King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the long-promised Messiah of Israel,

the conqueror of the world ultimately, God's Son under whose feet all

enemies will ultimately be subject should come riding in on a donkey's